


Pretty Little Lies

by WhoYouCallinMaam



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Heavy Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 22:49:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19473817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoYouCallinMaam/pseuds/WhoYouCallinMaam
Summary: "'You're wrong." he says plainly, and he can't help but chuckle at the absolute shock that flashes across her face and he feels himself relax slightly as her drop-jaw expression falls into a cautious smile. "I know, Professor, not a sentence you're used to hearing. But I need to say something and you need to hear it and then I'll leave you alone." she hesitates for a moment before nodding for him to continue." (Angst. This is just riddled with angst. Somewhere in the midst of all of the Jessica mess of season 2.)





	Pretty Little Lies

"...and you deserve to finally be happy, Wyatt."

He's not sure how long he's been pacing in front of her door, but by the time he's worked up the nerve to knock, she's almost plows straight into him as she stumbles across the threshold. He sees the surprise flash across her face before she straightens up and puts up a mask of indifference. Something about her total lack of emotion is the tipping point for him and before she stabilizes her footing he's gently grabbing her by the elbow and guiding her back into the room.

"I need to talk to you."

"...Okay. About what?" she says, confused not only by his attitude, but his presence in her vicinity at all. He's seemed to have made it his mission to avoid her like the plague since their decision to stick to kicking ass and saving the world. At first she thought it was a good thing - out of sight, out of mind - but it appears Wyatt Logan and her feelings for him are exceptions to that rule.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" he asks, demands, really, as he continues to pace the short path cleared between her bunk and Jiya's.

Unsure as to what he talking about, she watches him cautiously; like a caged animal that might pounce if she makes even the slightest wrong move.

"Hello? Lucy, I asked you a question."

"Wyatt, I have no idea what you are talking about or why you're acting like this but if you expect this conversation to go any further I'd check the attitude at the door. I don't owe you anything so you have no right to barge in here making demands." she responds, flopping down onto her unmade bed, arms crossed in resolute defiance.

He stops pacing. Hands on his hips, taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes. He knows he's not going to get anywhere with her if he's reckless and hot-headed, even if sometimes she finds it endearing. Used to. She used to find them endearing. He takes another deep breath before turning to face her.

"On the phone. When I told you that Jess was alive, you told me you were fine. You told me you were happy for me and that it was a good thing. Why? It clearly wasn't how you felt and it sure as hell wasn't a good thing for you and me. So why did you lie to me?"

"What was I supposed to say, Wyatt?!" Now it's her turn to be the reckless hot-head as she jumps up from her spot on the bed and begins pacing her own path, arms flailing as she gestures wildly. " 'I know I'm your second choice and you've mourned Jessica for the last six years, but I'm pretty sure I love you, so ditch your not-so-dead wife that just reappeared and be with me instead' "? That sounds insane. This is all just - it's just insane and I wasn't going to be the one to make it harder for you."

He's pretty sure his brain stopped functioning around the time she said the word 'love', and his misplaced anger all but dissipates as she finishes, knowing that she's right. Hindsight is a bitch, but he knows if she'd said those things to him that day on the phone it would've further complicated an already impossible situation. The thing is, he has more questions. There's more that he needs clarified so that he can make how he felt, how he feels, completely clear to her.

"When you told me I deserved to finally be happy, you...you said it like I wasn't happy before." he starts hesitantly, studying her face for every reaction and emotion.

"...And?" she deadpans.

"And that's not true, Lucy. You can't possibly think that's true. I was happy. Insanely happy. Despite all the ridiculous shit that happens in our day to day lives throughout time and space - I was so happy with you."

"Wyatt, it was one night. It was a great night. And I'm glad I could...be there for you, or something, but I'm not under any delusion it meant anything more to you than that." she explains tiredly, trying to put as little emotion into her voice as possible. Maybe if she downplays it he'll drop it and quit bringing up things that have the power to completely break her.

"Meant anything to me?!" he explodes. "It meant EVERYTHING to me. You mean - Lucy. I don't know how to say this without sounding like a complete ass who's trying to have his cake and eat it too, but 1941 was not just you being there for me. It wasn't just one great night. It was...you are...I wanted it. I wanted you. Not just once. Not just that night. Always. Forever. I left Hollywood with my eyes set on a future forever with you. Obviously whatever crystal ball I was using didn't show me what a complete fuck up I was going to be in this mess with Jess reappearing. But you have to know - that night was not just sex for me. It wasn't just a fun way to blow off steam or cut tension or relax. I meant what I said, I was open to possibilities. Possibilities with you. If you believe anything, I need you to believe that." he finishes, feeling completely and emotionally drained.

"...I can't." Lucy responds simply, resolutely, like a fact. Like she was telling him the sky was blue.

"You - what? You can't?! What do you mean?"

"I can't believe that, Wyatt." she explains. "I mean, yes, I can believe you were open to possibilities. I can even believe you wanted to explore those possibilities with me, but I cannot believe that Hollywood - that I - meant much of anything to you after you just left me standing here without any explanation just to show back up with your wife. And I get it. I don't blame you. You got everything you ever wanted the minute you got that text from Jess; you got your life back. You had to make a choice. And you did. And it wasn't me, that's something I have to learn to deal with…"

"Lucy..." he whispers, the pain in her voice matching the ache in his heart. He loves his wife and he knows that it's beyond a miracle that she's alive and giving him a second chance. But Lucy...this tethered bond he feels with her is completely unaffected by his wife's reappearance and try as he might, he can't seem to want to try to let go of her, how she makes him feel and who she makes him want to be. He's man enough to admit – to himself anyways – that he loves her and he's masochistic enough to admit that if he'd just told her when they first talked about possibilities, before those six weeks from hell, things might be completely different for them.

"..and I cannot do that, Wyatt," she continues, desperately trying to ignore the broken way he whispers her name, "if you constantly try to make me feel better by saying things you don't mean. You think you're helping me by telling me pretty lies to let me down easy, but you're just making it harder." she finishes, fighting back tears as she watches him do the same.

They both stand there staring at each other, tears and regret in their eyes, torn between saying too much or not saying enough. Wyatt is the first to break, taking in a ragged breath as he holds his hands up in surrender. She's not surprised; Wyatt Logan is as bull-headed as they come, but he's been all too willingly to let her have the last word when it comes to them.

"You're wrong." he says plainly, and he can't help but chuckle at the absolute shock that flashes across her face and he feels himself relax slightly as her drop-jaw expression falls into a cautious smile. "I know, Professor, not a sentence you're used to hearing. But I need to say something and you need to hear it and then I'll leave you alone." she hesitates for a moment before nodding for him to continue.

"I fucked up in a lot of ways. And I will never forgive myself for the ways that I've hurt you with all my baggage and crap. But Lucy, I have never lied to you. Everything I've told you today, in Hollywood, since I've known you – it's all true. They're not pretty little lies to placate you and let you down easy; I know you're tough – hell, I know that better than you do – I know that you take the hits and roll with the punches and come back stronger every time and, honestly, that's one of the million things about you that I love. So I wouldn't waste my time or yours telling you lies. Hollywood changed my life. YOU changed my life. I don't know how to fix this, I don't know how to make this better for any of us and I sure as hell don't want to hurt you any more than I already have, but I need you to know that everything I said, everything I felt...everything I feel...is real and true."

And just like that, just as he promised, once he's said his peace, he gives her one of those devastatingly handsome Wyatt Logan half smiles, squeezes her hand and he walks by, and leaves the room.


End file.
